The Tipping Culture

Let me be clear – I tip. I probably over-tip, but I believe in rewarding good service when rendered. As a guy who takes a lot of cruises, tipping is just part of the deal. That said, I have to wonder at times if the tipping culture in the USA is getting out of hand? Of course, I’m speaking about yesterday’s news that Marriott International will soon be leaving an envelope on our pillows for tipping the housekeeper.

While I can’t claim to be 100 percent compliant with housekeeping tips at the hotels I stay in, I try to make a habit of leaving a tip, especially if I’m upgraded to a larger room or suite and there’s a lot more real estate for housekeeping to clean. I’m not particularly “put out” by the idea of an envelope on my pillow, but I don’t think it will make me any more likely to tip hotel housekeeping than I already was. What the envelope, and the internet buzz around it have done, is lead me to ask “where do we draw the line on tipping?” Who’s next? Airline employees? Train operators? Public subway drivers? The mail man/woman?

Has the tipping culture gotten out of hand in the USA? Here’s a new reader poll.

Marshall Jackson is an aviation enthusiast and avid cruiser. Throughout high school and college he continued to pursue his dream of becoming a commercial airline pilot obtaining his commercial pilot’s license at age 19. After college Marshall started his professional flying career as a Jetstream, and later Saab first officer with a regional airline. Grounded by Type 1 Diabetes in 1996, Marshall transitioned into operations management at one of the world’s largest airlines performing safety and compliance audits at airline and vendor facilities worldwide. Applying the skills gained in that position, Marshall moved into airport operations management at one of his airline’s busiest airports. After 10 years in the airline business, Marshall moved on to a new career that includes plenty of travel and plenty of cruises, and that’s just the way he likes it.

I’m not from the US so imagine my surprise about how the tipping culture works here.

I thought it was only restaurants (at least, from my research and what friends told me) but never, ever, ever tipped in hotels cos I have:
1) never ever tipped them and didn’t know there was such a practise
2) stayed mostly in hostels whenever i travel – the lack of hostels in the US is appalling and the fact that i now travel with my significant other (who hates hostels) means we have to book in hotels too

My SO is also not from the US so we were both wondering why we need to tip when we pay soooo much money for hotel rooms (at least, where we are from, everything is much cheaper)

So does that mean we have to tip people in the hostels too?

This is a first world country after all – can’t these enterprises just stop thinking about money money money & think about the welfare of their employees too?

David

This is for the hotel to underpay the employees and make the employees to believe that the tip will be the way to compensate for the underpay. How about just doing our job because we are being paid for it? Are we going back to child rearing, if you do your job or clean your room nice, we will give you this or that. sad concept.